Thursday, June 8, 2017

Comey's Coy Testimony Indicts Himself Not Trump

It is indeed
interesting that Donald Trump's biggest request and frustration with former FBI
Director James Comey deals
with the question of "honest loyalty." It's only this week, after
Trump has repeatedly insisted that he was not personally under FBI
investigation, that Comey finally confirms that truth. This after, according to
Comey's own
testimony, Trump had requested the FBI clear the record regarding himself
and the investigation into Russian election meddling. Clearly, Comey made
little effort to set the public record straight; instead, he seemed to prefer
allowing the continuation of "the cloud" of the MSM's unsubstantiated
collusion narrative to remain unchallenged.

Indeed, he told
the Senate he took notes because "I was honestly concerned that [the
president] might lie about the nature of that meeting."

In a phone call
from Trump on March 30th, Comey recollects, "[The President] asked what we
could do to 'lift the cloud.' I responded that we were investigating the matter
as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn't
find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then
re-emphasized the problems this was causing him." Regarding the same phone
conversation, Comey's written testimony continues, "I explained that we
had briefed the leadership of Congress on exactly which individuals we were
investigating and that we had told Congressional leaders that we were not
personally investigating President Trump. I reminded him I had previously told
him that. He repeatedly told me, 'We need to get that fact out.' (I did not
tell the President that the FBI and the Department of Justice had been
reluctant to make public statements that we did not have an open case on
President Trump for a number of reasons, most importantly because it would create
a duty to correct, should that change.)"

That statement by
Comey sums up the whole problem and gives insight into interpreting what Trump
meant in his request for "loyalty" from Comey. While at least three
times by Comey's own admission he told Trump that the president was not under
investigation, Comey remained reluctant to share this information with the
general public because he was worried that the status could change. Talk about
blatant bureaucratic hog wash. Comey certainly had no qualms about telling the
public when the FBI had opened and then closed its investigation into Hillary
Clinton, only to announce that he was reopening it, followed by a another election-layup announcement
that he had closed it again.

Comey also noted,
as he did in May, that former
Attorney General Loretta Lynch leaned on him to downplay the Hillary Clinton by
calling it a "matter" and not an "investigation."

In all honesty,
Comey's testimony ends up providing greater support for Trump's decision to
fire him. In fact, if anything, it corroborates Trump's account of his
communications with Comey — that Comey had indeed repeatedly assured him that
he was not under investigation. However, the Leftmedia will still attempt to
spin this as the "smoking gun" of Trump obstructing the Russia
investigation. The reality is there's not even smoke here.